Drink Recipes
Walk in to practically any taqueria in California and you'll likely find supersized containers of agua frescas, right next to the soda dispenser. The usual flavors are horchata (a sweet rice drink), tamarindo (from tamarind, and agua de jamaica (pronounced...
One of my father's favorite anytime indulgences is making a smoothie with a ripe banana, some of our homemade plum jam, plain yogurt, and honey. In the late fall, he'll swap out the jam for ripe kiwi-fruit. Personally, I'm a...
The first time I had chai, I was in a small rented room in the Chungking Mansion in Hong Kong (notoriously cheap accommodations). Our little cel block area probably had 4 bedrooms, and one little old Chinese lady who sat...
Once in a while, Trader Joe's has a great deal on limes; you can get a whole one pound bag for 99 cents. I'll buy a bag with the best of intentions to put them to good use, but then...
With the warming weather, our lemons are practically falling of the trees. Here's a lovely way to use them, homemade limoncello from guest contributor Garrett McCord. Enjoy! ~Elise Limoncello is a traditional digestif (a drink served after the meal to...
Okay, I know this one probably sounds a little weird, but trust me. It's good. Really good. Eye popping, wow, surprisingly good. Especially on a scorchingly hot summer day. Agua frescas are refreshing fruit drinks they sell all over Mexico...
We grew up with eggnog, the kind you buy in a carton, and every Christmas holiday we kids drank up as much of it as we could. I didn't even know that eggnog was a "spiked" drink until well into...
A few weeks ago, I got together with a few other food bloggers for lunch at a terrific diner - Canteen in San Francisco. Lunch was fabulous, truly. Make your way there if you get a chance. One menu item...
Every summer I head east to spend some time with my goddaughter Piper and her sisters Alden and Reilly on the Massachusetts shore south of Cape Cod. In what has now become a yearly tradition, we dig for clams to...
For those of us who garden and grow tomatoes, there often comes a point in the summer tomato growing season in which the bounty greatly exceeds one's ability to consume it, in its regular tomato form. If you find yourself...
Now this was a happy accident. I don't know how I ended up with some red wine in a cup with honey in it, but it happened, and I'm so glad it did. Once I discovered how lovely my red...
Come in from the cold and take the chill off with a warm cup of hot chocolate! Please welcome guest author Garrett McCord as he takes us through a hot chocolate tutorial. ~Elise Hot chocolate is one of those things...
Tis the season to be jolly, and to drink hot mulled cider. This delicious hot apple cider drink is a specialty of New England. Spiced with a clove-studded orange, nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon, hot mulled cider is the perfect drink...
A while ago I ordered some herbal tea at the Chez Panisse Café in Berkeley. The tea arrived in a large, clear, glass teapot, filled with green leaves and hot water. The tea was lovely - light, lemony, minty. After...
After one of the best July 4ths on record (70s in Sacramento in July? unbelievable) we're gearing up for another heat wave. If the smoke clears enough for us to go outside again, I'll make another batch of this wonderful...
Let me just say right up front, that in general I do not believe in diet-induced substitutes for the real thing. In other words, I use butter, not margarine, and sugar, not splenda. If I want to lose weight I...
Late September and early October is Concord Grape season in California's central valley. Every time I walk under our grape arbor in this season, just the smell of those ripe grapes conjures up memories of childhood - wolfing down a...
My mother received a huge mango the other day from a friend. Half of it went into some mango salsa; the other half into this rich mango lassi, essentially a smoothie made with mango and yogurt. I always order one...
Recently I hosted several Sacramento area food bloggers over for a potluck. Late in the afternoon, after most of the guests had left and the die hards remained, I pulled out some nocino, a spicy, sweet, slightly bitter walnut liqueur...
I was inspired by reading this post at Weddings and Food to make some pink lemonade today. Isn't it pretty? I think it is a little pinker than what we used to get frozen in the can growing up. Why...
Everybody knows how to make lemonade, right? Squeeze some lemons, add sugar and water. But how to make lemonade so that it tastes right everytime? Here's a surefire method. Remember the starting proportions - 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup...
Do you remember the first time you had a root beer float? I do. I must have been around 7 years old and we were visiting my grandparents in Phoenix, in the summer. Have you ever been to Arizona in...
From the recipe archives, because if you didn't make it the first time it was posted in 2008, and rhubarb is still available, you should go make this now. :-) ~Elise I was told by my friends, "whatever you do...
Remember Tang, the orange drink of astronauts? This sort of reminds me of Tang, or what Tang would taste like if it were made from fresh, whole ingredients. Or for those of us who outgrew Tang, think, Orangina but without...
I bought my goddaughter Piper and her sisters the Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook for Christmas this year and the one recipe Piper (age 4) wanted to make was the "Pink Yink Ink Drink". The Yink drink calls for frozen...
Head into any taqueria here in the West and likely you'll find agua fresca (translated literally "fresh water") for sale as well. The standard flavors are tamarindo (made with tamarind), horchata (rice and cinnamon), and jamaica (hibiscus), but you can...
As the mercury breaks 100°F on these hot summer days (or 38°C for those of you on a metric system) a great way to make some tea without heating up your kitchen is to use the power of the sun...
